Improvement in sewing-machines for working button-holes



' Sewing- Machmes 5 IjTNrrnD PATENT Orrron EDMUND HOWARD, OF FLUSHING,AND w YORK, N. Y.

' JACKSON, o r New Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.69,671, dated October 8, 1867.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDMUND HOWARD, of Flushing, in the county of Queensand State of New York, and WILLIAM H. JAoKsON, of the city, county, andState of New York, have invented a new and ,Improved Attachment to andthat the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, hereinafterreferred to,forms a full and exact specificationof the same,

wherein we have set forth the nature and principles of our saidimprovements, by which our invention may be distinguished from allothers of a similar class, together with suchparts as we claim anddesire to have secured to us by Letters Patent.

The present invention relates to an attachment for sewing-machines,andfor that class of such machines more particularly known as Ytheshuttle-machines, or those in which two threads are employed to form thestitch, the object and purpose of the attachment being to producel abutton-hole stitch, so called, along and over the edge of the goods ormaterials as it is being sewed therein.

The invention consists of an attachment having its several parts soconstructed and arranged asto Operate, in connenction'with the forwardand backward movement of the shuttle in the machine, and of the needlethrough the cloth or material, to take up the slack of the: thread atthe heel of the shuttle, just previous or at the time the ordinaryshuttle-stitch has been completed, and to carry it forward upon theunder side ofthe clothto its edge, andthence up and around such edge toand Aover the upper side of the cloth, in time for the next downwardmovement of the needle to pass through the loop of the shuttle-threadwhich is thus formed, and there secure such loop, completing thebutton-hole stitch in the goods, while the downward movement of theneedle continuing, in connection with the forward movement oftheshuttlc, (which, as the button-hole stitch was being formed, as abovedescribed,

has moved back to its original positioll) the next shuttle-stitch isformed, and in `combination therewith, as before, the slack of theshuttle-thread at the heel of l the shuttle again taken and made to forma button hole stitch, by

drawing it to the edge, and up and around it to the upper side of thecloth, as before, and so on as long as the machine is properly operated.

In the accompanying plate" of drawings our improved attachment isillustrated, Figure l being a plan or top view of the attachment securedto and in its place upon the machine; Fig. 2, a vertical section takenin the plane of theline e x, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a transverse section takenin the plane of the line y y, Fig. l Fig. 4, a plan.` or top view of thebed-plate to the machine, with our attachment detached and theshuttle-way open; Fig. 5, an edge or side view of the attachment, andFig. 6 a view showing stitch greatly enlarged and spread.

A in the drawings represents the bed or platform of the machine, whichplatform is supported upon legs B at each corner, and on it are to bearranged, in the ordinary manner, the devices and parts common to any ofthe shuttle-machines, or those in which two threads are employed to formthe stitch; G, the way in bed or platform A for the play ofthe shuttle;D, the shuttle, and D2 its carrier; E, the feedu wheel, and F the groovein bed-plate H, where the ordinary throat-plate to the machine isinserted. In the groove for the throat-plate to the machine, after suchplate has been removed, the plate H, carrying the attachment embraced bythis invention, is inserted and secured by set-screws I, or in any otherproper manner which will allow of its ready attachment, and of itsremoval when so desired, this plate H extending' across and over theshuttleway C of the machine.

To and on the plate H are arranged the parts or mechanical devices to benow described, which, in connection with the forming of theshuttle-stitch by the needle and shuttle, as in ordinary sewing-machinesof that class, operate to form the button-hole stitch desired, the plateH being suitably constructed to receive such parts, and with a throat oropening', a, for the needle to pass down through it to the shuttle-waybelow. I?, a narrow slide arran ged in a slot, J, of the plate H, whichslot extends from the throat .a of such plate in a direction back of thesame, and in a line at right angles to the movement of the shuttle inthe machine. This slide extends under the throat to the plate H, andthrough such extension a throat or opening, b, is made, corre spendingin position to the plate-throat, and forming a continuation thereof whenunder the same. K, a lever or arm, hung by one end on a fulorum-pin, c,at the rear or farther end of the slide, and to its upper side, fromwhich it extends toward the platethroat n, and, when not in operation orat rest, lies in a groove made in the upper face of such plate,extending by its extreme end L, which is made of a hook shape, under thethroat to the attachment-plate,between it and the throat in the slidel2; M, a rightangularshaped lever, hun g at its angle, N,to afulcrum-pin upon the under side ot' the attachment-plate H. The longerarm O of this lever M is hung, by its slot d, upon a pin or stud, f, ot'the slide I, while to the outer end of its shorter arm I is connectedone end of a spring, Q, that at its other is fixed to the upper side ot'the plate or attaclnnent-holder Il. g, a pin secured in one side ofhook-lever K, at or near its tail or fulcrum end, which pin, as theslide to which such lever is attached is moved backward, plays under thehorizontal arm R, secured by its slot Il and a set-screw, S, to the topof the holder-plate, and against the under side of such arm, until, atits issue from the open end I of the same, it passes up and upon theaised lip or edge T, secured by a slot and set-screw, as has beendescribed for the arm lt, to the plate H, both the arm 1t and lip Textending in a direction parallel to that in which the slide moves, andforming a continuation, as it were, of each other.

In continuation of slot J for slide l2, another slide, U, is arranged tomove between the rear or tail end of said slide lZ and cross bar orpiece Y to plate or holder H. To the upper side of this slide U a leveror arm, W, is hung, which arm extends forward toward the throat (l ofthe holder, and has secured in its socket X, by set-screw m, a needle orpiece ot' steel, Y, split from its outer end in the direction and for aportion of its length. Z, a raised rib or bridge, secured, by slot andsetscrew on plate H, in position for the lever, having split needle, asit is carried forward and backward, to move over the same, and thus toswing the said lever upon its fulcrum; A2, a lug or projection on underside of slide U, carrying split needle, through which lug such slide isoperated, as will be hereinafter described; B2, a spring, connected withslide U, to throw or draw back the same at'ter operation; D4, a slottedplate, seein-ed by setscrews E2 to upper side of shuttle-carriage D2,which plate has a raised lip, E, provided at one end with a bent spring,F2, the said lip and its bent spring, as the shuttle-carriage movesforward and backward in the shuttleway, produein g the operation of theparts composing our improved attachment hereinabove described.

le will now describe the manner of using the attaclnnent, as well as itsoperation with a shuttle sewing-machine of the Singer manufacture, soknown:

First, remove the throat-plate ot' the ma chine; when in its place,secure, by means of screws L, the holder or plate H, carrying theworking mechanism, in the relative posi tion shown; then adjust thefeed-wheel to a height corresponding with the attachment, and having themachine otherwise adjusted, it is ready for sewing the button-holedesired by properly bringing and subjecting its edge to the action ot'the sewing mechanism, or, in other words, for the needle to pass throughit and form the stitch, which, so far as it relates to theshuttle-stitch, is the same as if the attach' ment were not in placeupon the machine; but with oui attachment, in addition to theshuttlestitch, the thread from the shuttle is made to form what is knownas a button-hole stitch,7 or, in other words, carried around the edgeot' the buttoirhole by means ot' the hook and split levers acting theone after the other, the hook-lever trst taking the slack thread at theheel ot' the shuttle, at or near the completion of its forward movement,and carrying it up therefrom into the split needle or lever, where,leaving it as the shuttle moves backward, it is carried by such needlearound the edge of the cloth to its upper side, in position thereon forthc needle, as it again. descends, to pass into the loop of the threadthus formed, and there secure and hold it, while thc split needlewithdraws and comes to its proper position to again receive thesliuttle-threzul, for again carrying it around and over thc edge of thcbutton-hole, as before, and so on as long as the machine may be run orkept in motion.

The hook -lever thread-carrier is operated by the abutment ofthe end L3of thelip E4 to thel shuttle-carrier against the short arm ot' thclever, connected with the said tln'cad-carricr, as the shuttle movesforward, which causes the said hook to be drawn a-way from the throatofthe attachment, while, at the same time, by its pin g moving overtheraiscd edge T ofthe holder-plate H, it is made to rise or liftsufficiently to bring the thread carried by it into the split needle orlever, when, thel shuttle-lip having passed by the said arm to thelever, the hook-lever is then thrown back to its original position underthe throat to the plate H by the action of its spring Q.

The split needle, upon the backward movement ofthe slnittle-carrier, isactuated by thc spring of the lip formed upon such carrier, as in thebackward movement ot' such carrier it presses against the side ot' thelug attached to the under side of the slide carrying such split needle,and causes such slide to be moved forward, and consequently its splitneedle, and when the said lip has passed by the lug of the split-needleslide the spring B2, connected with such slide, throws or draws it backto its original position for the next movement ofthe hook-shapedthread-carrier.

In the sewing of the button-holes, in order to hold the button-hole`.Open while being sewed,l a raisedcover, H4, is hung to theyattachment, in such manner that when closed over it, it will form a restfor the opposite edge of the button-hole to that on which the needle isoperating, above the plane of such edge, and thereby hold the same openor away therefrom sufficiently to prevent any interference with theneedle movement.

Inlig. 6 the stitch made by our improved attachment is shown on anenlarged and somewhat open form, one representation of the thread beingthat from the shuttle, and the other that from the needle.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. The combination ofthe hook-lever or needle Kand split lever or needle Y, or their respective equivalents, bothacting, the one after the other, to carry the thread from thesubstantially as and for the purpose described'.

The above specication of our invention signed by us this 21st day ofFebruary, 1867 EDMUND HOWARD. W. H. JACKSON.

Witnesses WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALBERT W. BROWN.

